Wrong Number: A Quinton Griggs Fanfiction «completed»

Part 35: One Year

-six months later-

The Cynthia situation fizzled out, and I wasn't worried about it any longer. She avoided us at all costs, but the paparazzi never stopped asking about it. Thankfully, I wasn't being recognized when I was out and about by myself, which made our relationship that much easier. 
Rafy and I found an apartment near Sway, and we decided to take our chances and get it together. We had built a relationship beyond just being coworkers, and I felt that I could truly call her my best friend. It was different than with Emma or Amanda. It was better.

"Happy one year, babe," Quinton whispered, pressing his lips gently against my forehead. 
"Mmm," I groaned. "Good morning. Happy one year to you, too."
"I have a lot planned for today, so you better get up and get ready," he replied, getting out of my bed. 
"A lot planned for today? Like what?" I asked. 
"A lot, baby. You'll see. Just get ready, okay?"

He left the room, and I got up, walking through the apartment and into the bathroom. I needed to shower. Maybe that would help me wake up a little bit faster. 
The warm water hit my skin, and it felt like I was wrapped in a soft blanket. "Oh, stop it, Izzie. This is supposed to wake you up."
I got out of the shower, wrapping my hair in the towel before looking at myself in the mirror. It didn't matter how much sleep I got, the bags from the last year never seemed to leave their spot on my face. 
Quinton hadn't told me what the plans were for today, so I decided on a light makeup look. When I pulled the towel off of my head, I realized that I wasn't in the mood to blow dry my hair, so I opted for two dutch braids, one down each side of my head. I walked back into the bedroom, rifling through my closet. I pulled on my favorite distressed jeans, pairing them with one of the hoodies that Quinton had given me from the most recent Sway merch drop. I looked in the full-length mirror on my closet door. I didn't look my best, but I definitely didn't look my worst either. 

I went out to the kitchen, and I spotted Quinton at the stove. "Mmm, something smells good," I said, sitting down at the kitchen table. 
"It's our 'happy one-year' breakfast, my love. It's your favorite: chocolate chip pancakes and bacon," he said, putting a pancake on a plate and sliding it in front of me on the table. "Eat up, babe."
"Is this the first surprise of the day?" I asked, pouring some syrup on my pancakes.
"Oh, I mean, I guess it's kind of a surprise, but I didn't really count it as one," he replied, sitting down across from me at the table.

Rafy stumbled into the kitchen. "Oh, sorry, guys," she mumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. 
"Hey, no worries, Rafy. Come join us," Quinton said, getting up to get a plate from the cabinet. 
Rafy shook her head. "No, I can't. It's your anniversary today, right?"
"Yes, but you definitely can. The more the merrier. Besides, I made way too much food," Quinton assured her, pulling a chair out from the table. 

Rafy sat down, and we all engaged in small talk as we ate. "Alright, Izzie. I'm gonna go get dressed, and then we will head out on our first stop, okay?"
I nodded, and Rafy looked at me. "God, you really got a good one, huh?" she asked, taking a bite of bacon. 
"I did, didn't I?" I asked, looking over at my bedroom door. "I don't deserve him."
"Don't be silly," Rafy disagreed. "You've been through so much over the past year. You more than deserve a good man, Izzie. Don't psych yourself out, and potentially ruin a good thing. He loves you."
"I know, and I love him, too," I sighed, "but I just feel like every time that something starts to go right in my life, it implodes. I don't want this to do that, Rafy."
"Let yourself live in the moment, Izzie. Everything is going to be fine if you don't plague yourself with the what if's," she replied. "Have fun today. I'll see you when you get home."

Quinton came out of the bedroom, and he looked at me. "You ready, kiddo?"
"Kiddo feels like a weird pet name," I teased. "I'm ready. See you later, Rafy."
Quinton and I went down the stairs and got into his car. "Where are we going?" I asked, buckling my seatbelt. 
"If I told you that, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it?" he joked. "You'll know what the surprise is when we get there, my love."
We drove in almost complete silence, but Quinton turned Jaden's new single on to fill it. 

He pulled up to the skate park that we had visited after we went to dinner together for the first time. "Do you remember when we came here?" he asked, turning the car off before turning in his seat to look at me. 
"I do remember. You kissed me for the first time that night, and right after, you brought up Cynthia," I recalled. 
"I did do that, didn't I? That was an entire mess. Sorry about that," he muttered, his cheeks flushing a bright shade of red. 
"Hey, that's okay. The next day, I got fired from my job, so there are more embarrassing things that could have happened, don't you think?"
"On the bright side, you got a job working for Sway right after. There's a silver lining in every dark cloud, right?" he asked, grabbing my hand. He kissed the hand in mine, and I let out a sigh. "I realized that I loved you that night, Izzie. I realized that you were exactly what I couldn't live without. I don't ever want to live without you ever again."
"What are you saying right now, Quinton?"
"Isabella Davis, will you marry me?"